Posted on 12/06/2004 1:45:03 AM PST by kattracks
Just in time for Christmas, America's two largest news magazines devote this week's cover stories to debunking the story of Jesus' birth.Among the conclusions in Time and Newsweek: Jesus was born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem; there is little evidence of three kings following a star, and the story of the virgin birth may have been borrowed.
"The Nativity saga is neither fully fanciful nor fully factual but a layered narrative of early tradition and enduring theology," Newsweek writes in examining the Sunday-school version of the birth of Christ.
This may be unwelcome "news" to most Americans. A Newsweek poll found that 55% of Americans believe every word in the Bible is literally true, 67% believe the entire Christmas story is literally true and 79% believe Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary with no human father.
"In the debates over the literal truth of the Gospels, just about everyone acknowledges that major conclusions about Jesus' life are not based on forensic clues," Time notes. "There is no specific physical evidence for the key points of the story."
Quoting esteemed religious scholars, the mags poke holes in New Testament scribes Matthew and Luke's divergent explanations of how Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem, with Time asserting that most scholars now place his birth in Nazareth.
Both mags point out that the star in the East might be a literary embellishment by Matthew, perhaps inspired by accounts of Halley's comet appearing 12 years before Christ's birth.
Even the Virgin Mary's conception, a cornerstone of Christian theology, is fodder for skeptics, who say the story was a possible blend of Jewish theology with Greek and Roman myths.
Originally published on December 6, 2004
Their hostility is despicable! Haven't seen any cover stories about the seamier side of Mohammed! Of course they just might value the integrity of their throats.
"Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 1:11
If I subscribed to either of them, I'd send them back with the suggestion they use them to line their colon.
THE CHRISTMAS LINKS PAGE
http://www.truthusa.com/CHRISTmas.html
I couldn't agree more.
This story is utter nonsense because there really isn't enough of a historical record to prove or disprove much of anything contained in the gospels.
Newsweek did this same hatchet job on the crucifixion story when Mel Gibson's movie came out. This is absolutely typical for Newsweek.
Newsweek? Time? Aren't they made of paper?
They probably believe the "Jesus was gay!" line the Left likes now, in spite of the non-existence of anything to support that conclusion at all.
And burn at so many degrees Fahrenheit?
FAITH is the answer they're lacking. It's really hard to believe that all of the editors of these magazines are without faith. Either that's true, which means that they don't know what they're talking about, or they do have faith, but are denying it in order to sell magazines.
Pretty disgusting either way.
Romans 1:22
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.
You're being to kind to these editors. Also CNN is going to be running a show on "The Two Marys". They're going to tell you that Mary Magdalene was actually Jesus' wife. Just another attempt to prove Jesus was not the Son of God.
If there was, were would the personal choice be, in becoming a Christian?
Since the MSM have been outfoxed by the Christian Right. These kind of articles are just their last dying gasp. They know that it all over for them, yet they just can't resist throwing one more blow.
Just another reason not to watch CNN.
Blue county rags.
Either Jesus was born of a virgin or the scriptures are a lie.
If they are a lie, we are yet in our sins, redemption is not made complete and the fall of the race into damnation is without solution.
If science hacks can birth a lamb from a cloned cell without the benefit of an earthly sheep for a father...
then Father God can birth the lamb of God, from a single human cell to redeem mankind from our fallenness.
after all, HE was the one who designed and created the 'human' cell to begin with... and the one for lambs, too.
I think I will continue to believe the Biblical record on such things. What was once impossible, virgin birth, is NOW KNOWN to be a medical possibility, given a little technology here and there. I am willing to bet that God's technology was a lot farther advanced two millenia ago than ours is... or will be in another two millenia... big time.
I can't wait til next Ramadan when they debunk Islam!
I wouldn't hold my breath for that.
When did the NY Daily News become anything more than a 2-bit porno rag...sure have been posted here a lot. What a load of drivel.
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